This post is Day 21 in a series of studies about “Babies and Children”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today. (The form is at the bottom of the page).

Babies and Children – Day 21

It is Christmas. Over the next few days, people in many parts of the world will be celebrating the birth of the Saviour. This verse will be quoted as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus. But few will put it into the context of the time it was given.

Isaiah 7:14

The Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel.

The Thought

Over the next few days, people in many parts of the world will be celebrating the birth of the Saviour. This verse will be quoted as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus. But few will put it into the context of the time it was given.

Many prophesies have more than one meaning, and this is one of those. Reading it in context we see that King Ahaz (ruling in Judah) was having quite a rough time (v2) with enemies all around. The Lord was using Isaiah to communicate with Ahaz what he needed to do. He told him to ask for a sign himself (v10), but this stubborn king refused, thinking that was an unrighteous thing to do. His reply to the Lord was I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test (v12).

The following verse shows us Isaiah’s frustration in his response. Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?

Then we arrive at our verse for today, about 700 years before that special baby would be born!

Action

Read Isaiah 7 today and pray for a better understanding of the situation.

Praise God that prophecy can have both a present and a future meaning at the same time.

Pray for those you know who will be celebrating Christmas, but not be celebrating the birth of Jesus because they don’t know Him as Lord.

Think about the gift of prophecy. Is it something you have, would like, or think should be avoided?

Pray for more true prophecy in your church, remembering that it must be used with love (1 Corinthians 13:2).

For a full list of online studies available on this site, please click here.

If there is a subject you would like to see on this site, please use the comment section below or drop us an email (there’s a link at the very top of the page). We can’t promise to cover them all, and our studies are usually prepared a month or two in advance, so please be patient.

For a full list of physical resources available through this site, please click here.